Aspects of the present invention are directed to a self-tracking cart.
Various types of carts can be used in different settings to facilitate the movement of loads through given spaces. For example, luggage carts can be used to move large amounts of luggage throughout airports. Often, these luggage carts are provided as part of a train of luggage carts that are sequentially attached to one another and, at the front end, to a tractor vehicle that pulls the train along. The connections between the tractor vehicle and the first luggage cart and the connections between each adjacent luggage cart may be provided by any type of hitch system, such as a tongue linkage mechanism or a trailer hitch connection. In any case, the hitch system transmits pulling and turning forces from a lead item in the train to a trailing item.
While airport pathways are generally wide and do not often require that luggage cart trains have tight turning controls, this is of course not always the case. In many cases, it is necessary for the luggage cart trains to make tightly controlled turns at sharp corners, in narrow pathways or where bystanders are nearby.
Cart trains in other industries, such as factory environments, are also subject to stringently controlled steering requirements. In particular, in computing and semi-conductor manufacturing warehouses that span large areas, it is often necessary to transport large amounts of highly sensitive and expensive goods from one sector to another through very narrow pathways. In these cases, it is especially important that the cart trains be able to maneuver precisely so as not to upset their respective loads.
Despite these concerns, cart trains are typically not designed to be highly maneuverable and, therefore, the movement of luggage throughout airports and the movement of highly sensitive and expensive goods from one sector to another in a manufacturing warehouse must be done slowly and carefully. This represents a significant cost in terms of time and manpower. Moreover, even when the movements are executed slowly and carefully, damage due to maneuvering difficulties is often unavoidable.